square root

noun

1. a quantity of which a given quantity is the square:

   The quantities +6 and −6 are square roots of 36 since (+6)×(+6)=36 and (−6)×(−6)=36.

square root

noun

1. a number or quantity that when multiplied by itself gives a given number or quantity

   2 is a square root of 4, usually written √4 or 41/2

square root

1. A number that, when squared, yields a given number. For example, since 5 × 5 = 25, the square root of 25 (written √25) is 5.

square root

1. A number that, when multiplied by itself, will result in a given number. The square root of four is two; the square root of one hundred is ten.

Notes

The square roots of many numbers, such as three, are irrational numbers .

Word History and Origins

Origin of square root¹

First recorded in 1550–60

Example Sentences

“It’s the square root of pi, so take the square root of 3.1416,” Kelly cracked of his team’s chances in that scenario.

From Los Angeles Times

The whole process takes time proportional to the square root of the number of boxes: Increasing that number by a factor of 100 only increases the runtime by a factor of 10.

From Scientific American

England gave them the square root of nothing.

From BBC

She looked intrigued, which was new, because Katie usually walks around with this distracted expression on her face, like she’s busy figuring the square root of the prime number closest to the gross national product.

From Literature

Irrational numbers include, for example, the square root of 2, whose decimal representation is infinite without ever repeating.

From Scientific American